Yours,
Li Hua
Missus Sommers one day found herself the unexpected owner of fifteen dollars. It seemed to her a very large amount of money. For a day or two she walked around in a dreamy state as she thought about her choices. Her daughter Janie was wearing worn shoes and needed new ones. She would buy cloth for new shirts for the boys. Her daughter Mag should have another dress. And still there would be enough left for new stockings for her children. The idea about how to spend the dollars made her restless with excitement.
On the day she planned to go shopping with the money, she ate a light meal—no! Between getting the children fed and the house cleaned, and preparing herself to go shopping? She forgot to eat at all!
When she arrived at the large department store, she spotted a pile of silk stockings at the entrance. A sign nearby announced that they had been reduced in price. A young girl behind the counter asked her if she wished to examine the silky leg coverings. She smiled as if she had been asked to inspect diamond jewelry, and started to feel the soft，expensive items. Missus Sommers picked up a black pair and looked at them closely. Two red marks suddenly showed on her pale face. She looked up at the shop girl and said proudly, "Well. I will buy this pair."
Missus Sommers changed her cotton stockings for the new silk ones in the ladies9 rest area. She had let herself be controlled by some machine-like force that directed her actions and freed her of responsibility. How good was the touch of the silk on her skin! Then she put her shoes back on and put her old stockings into her bag. Next 5 she went to the shoe department where she tried on a pair of new boots. Her foot and ankle looked lovely. She could not believe that they were a part of herself.
After buying a pair of new boots, she walked into the clothing department.
She was about to leave the store when a kid running around reminded her of something.
Dad handed me the bucket and the net with a long, wooden handle. He gave Paulie two dead fish wrapped in newspaper. They were tied up with string like a present. I held my nose, but Paulie held those fish like they were his best baseball cards.
“Since we all want crabs for supper, catch a whole bunch. But just in case you don’t, we have leftover broccoli (花椰菜).” Dad said with a wink.
The salty air from Chesapeake Bay filled our noses. This was the best place in the world to catch blue crabs. They like grassy, shadowy water, so Paulie and I headed for our old wooden dock. It was hot, and I sat down and swung my legs over the edge, into the cool water. Paulie struggled to tie the string to one of the slippery fish. Then he slid the extra fish into the bucket and set it in the dark water under the dock for later.
“Here.” Paulie handed me the baited string. “Dangle (提着) this down in the water to call the crabs.”
Crabs love smelly, old fish, so our first crab didn’t take long to come. Its big claw clamped (紧夹住) the bait, and I raised the string real slow so Paulie could net it. But my legs swishing (发出刷刷声) in the water startled that crab, and it let go and floated back to the bottom like a leaf off a tree. Paulie brought up the net and stood there with the handle on the dock.
“Kathy, I can’t believe you’re going to be in third grade and can’t sit still for one minute,” he said.
“And I can’t believe you’re going to be in sixth grade and haven’t caught any crabs yet.”
I went back to dangling the fish.
“Well, get ready,” he urged. “Here comes another one.”
The sun began to set.
Every animal sleeps, but the reason for this has remained foggy. When lab rats are not allowed to sleep, they die within a month.
Now we have the most direct evidence yet that he is right.
If Tononi’s theory is right, it would explain why, when we miss a night’s, we find it harder the next day to concentrate and learn new information — our brains may have smaller room for new experiences.
Their research also suggests how we may build lasting memories over time even though the synapses become thinner. The team discovered that some synapses seem to be protected and stayed the same size.
| A．We should also try to sleep well the night before. |
| B．It’s as if the brain is preserving its most important memories. |
| C．Similarly, when people go for a few days without sleeping, they get sick. |
| D．The processes take place to stop our brains becoming loaded with memories. |
| E．That’s why students do better in tests if they get a chance to sleep after learning. |
| F．“Sleep is the price we pay for learning,” says Giulio Tononi, who developed the idea. |
| G．Tononi’s team measured the size of these connections, or synapses, in the brains of 12 mice. |
| A．Stories about different countries. |
| B．Stories about people’s work and life. |
| C．Stories about making money. |
| A．At 6:00 p.m. | B．At 6:40 p.m. | C．At 7:40 p.m. |
| A．Talk Face-to-Face. | B．Beijing News. | C．Tell Me Your Problems. |
| A．Some children. | B．Famous writers. | C．Some stars. |
Global warming could make humans shorter.Scientists claim to have found evidence that it caused the world's first horses
About a mile behind our house lay a pond. In summer, my brother Harry and I would run through a stand of trees to throw stones over the water there. The pond wore a collar of black mud. It was not a place for swimming. When winter came, the pond was once again an inviting place.
One day when ice covered it, Harry said to me, “Try walking across.”
The ice looked thick. No water showed through it, but I felt uncertain about it.
“Go ahead,” Harry said. “Try it. You’re lighter than I am. You go first. If the ice holds, we can run and slide on it. It’ll be fun.”
I wanted to please Harry, and I thought about the fun of a long slide on the ice. I began to take steps across the pond. In the middle of the pond,the ice cracked. I threw out my arms. The next thing I knew was hanging on to the edge of a hole in the ice. From my shoulders down I hung in icy water. I thought of the bottom of the pond. I knew it would be black and awful down there. I tried to climb out of the hole, but when I got a knee on the ice, it broke like window glass. Again and again I tried to get out. Again and again the ice broke. The hole widened. As my coat became wet, it pulled me down. I grew tired of trying to get out and rested my arms on the ice.
I looked at Harry on the shore. He just stood there. “I can’t get out! Help me!” I screamed when I caught some breath.
Harry turned and ran from the pond.
Hand over hand,I pulled myself from the hole.
The way Jason Momoa describes Hawaii’s beloved inactive volcano, Mauna Kea, makes you understand why it’s considered sacred(神圣的).
"It’s kind of the umbilical cord(脐带) to earth," the actor tells CNN. "You know, if you think about the Hawaiian islands, that’s the biggest mountain in the world, right? All the way up. So Mauna Kea is the most sacred. We call it the belly button, too. That’s like our birthplace. That’s how our islands were formed. So how can that not be sacred?"
He would know. Jason, a native of Hawaii, has had a near-constant presence there when he’s not working, fighting with local protestors to stop the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, which would drill directly into the mountain and invade its precious water supply. So far, protestors have successfully blocked the only road crews seeking to go up the mountain in order to build the billion-dollar observatory.
"It started in 2015. What’s happening over there was just not right," Jason says. "And I went over there to meet with everyone to bring the point to the world." Jason joins the protests when he can. He cared so deeply about the preservation of the land that when he had spare time to lend his support, he was there. "You also have to remember, that’s our water source. So having an 18-story building built on top of the tallest mountain from the sea level on our water level is terrible."
The Game of Thrones star says he feels the movement is working and describing his part in it as a calling to do what he feels right in his soul. "There’s massive progress that’s bringing our people together," he says, adding, "I think there are a lot of problems in Hawaii. There are a lot of things that have happened in our history, a lot of injustice, and so we’re shining a light on it. People like myself or Dwayne Johnson, Bruno Mars are trying to spread the concern all around the world. For my soul I need to be there."
| A．It’s still growing upwards. | B．It looks like the belly button. |
| C．It’s the birthplace of Humans. | D．It brings the islands into being. |
| A．The project of building TMT. | B．The event of blocking the road crews. |
| C．The shooting of Game of Thrones. | D．The movement of preserving the land. |
| A．Bringing Hawaiian people together. | B．Witnessing the history of Hawaii. |
| C．Bringing Hawaii problems into focus. | D．Making Mauna Kea better-known. |
| A．Travel. | B．Celebrity. |
| C．Culture. | D．Technology. |
It was a sunny afternoon when Alice found herself wandering lost in a busy city. Feeling overwhelmed and confused, she couldn’t find her way back to her hotel. With despair in her eyes, she stood on a crowded street corner, searching for help. Just when Alice was about to give up hope, a friendly face appeared in the crowd. It was an elderly gentleman named Mr. Johnson. Sensing her distress, he approached Alice and kindly asked if he could be of assistance. Grateful for his offer, Alice explained her situation. Mr. Johnson listened attentively and reassured her that he knew the way to her hotel. Without hesitation,he insisted on accompanying her to ensure she reached her destination safely.
As they walked together, Mr. Johnson engaged in cheerful conversation, gently distracting Alice from her anxious thoughts. His warm demeanor and genuine concern put her at ease, as if they were old friends. Along the way, he pointed out landmarks and shared interesting tidbits about the city. After a short walk, they arrived at the hotel. Alice thanked Mr. Johnson profusely, her gratitude pouring out in every word. But instead of accepting her thanks, he simply smiled and said, “Helping someone in need is its own reward.”
With those words, Mr. Johnson bid Alice farewell and continued on his way. His selflessness had made a profound impact on Alice’s heart, inspiring her to pay his kindness forward.
Days turned into weeks, and Alice found herself constantly on the lookout for opportunities to help others. Whether it was offering directions to lost tourists or lending a hand to someone struggling with heavy bags, Alice became known as the “kind stranger”in her community.
One day, while walking through a park, Alice noticed a young girl sitting alone on a bench, tears streaming down her face. Without hesitation, she approached the girl and asked if she needed someone to talk to. They began a heartfelt conversation, and Alice soon discovered that the girl, Emily, was feeling lost and lonely.
Drawing experience from herself, Alice shared stories of kindness with Emily.
After constantly paying her kindness forward, Alice was lost in thought.
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